Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not underestimate the ability of the Irish Defence Forces to train their own troops. They have done so for many years and that training has stood the test of being on UN duties around the world. The honourable tradition of the Defence Forces' deployment on those duties is being undermined by the actions of this Government and the previous one in aligning themselves with EU battlegroups and the proposals that I believe go towards an EU army, as I have outlined in the past. Does the Minister of State not accept that the title of "battlegroup" was not unfortunate but was quite deliberate, given what I said earlier about the Commission and those who are at the helm of the EU? They are not daisy pickers. It is a battlegroup in terms of the idea and the tasks. I ask the Minister of State what tasks exactly are involved such that a battlegroup can be sent. It is not just about peacekeeping. There is peace enforcement, taking sides, going into battle with an opponent if it is not willing to accept the diktats of the EU.

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